The Overlord of the Red Mansion

Chapter 243 Emperor
The emperor died casually, but left a mess for Jia Rong to deal with.

In the Golden Palace, Jia Rong sat on the emperor's throne and worried about the current situation.

"The emperor has left behind thirteen children and a large group of women. There are seven or eight hundred in Jiangnan and more than a hundred in the palace. How should we deal with them? Even too many are too many to be buried alive with him."

The Queen said directly: "Just send them away. Now the Emperor's lineage cannot be left behind. We should choose a wise prince from among the eight princes to be the Emperor."

Everyone in the Golden Palace knew that the Queen was talking about Jia Rong.

Now, eight out of the eight princes don't want to be the emperor...

It turned out that the emperor's children were too young, the oldest was only a year old, and the emperor's children generally did not live long, with a very high mortality rate.

Zong Zheng took the initiative to step forward and said respectfully: "I think that the capital is in turmoil now, and the world is in turmoil. Only the King of Loyalty and Filial Piety can ascend the throne of the emperor!"

After seeing this senior member of the royal family nominate Jia Rong, another general from the royal family also stepped forward.

"I think what Master Zongzheng said is very true. The Prince of Loyalty and Filial Piety is selected based on his talent. He is fair and honest, and he is also extremely wise. He has the talent to save the world and govern the country. He is also in good health, unlike other princes who are short-lived."

This reason seemed very reasonable to the queen and all the officials.

Good health is a must.

When people leave, the tea gets cold; a new emperor appoints new ministers.

The officials in the south of the Yangtze River, who had enjoyed great glory at the beginning of the year, had now become old and outdated.

A healthy and long-lived emperor is the most suitable emperor.

It would be better if you were diligent and wise, and didn't mess around.

Jia Rong is not hardworking and likes to make trouble, but in the eyes of the scholars, soldiers, landlords and bureaucrats inside and outside the court, Jia Rong is undoubtedly the best candidate who is hardworking and not restless.

He is more hardworking than the emperor.

He is not as troublesome as the emperor.

Jia Rong had no real interest in being the emperor, and he always felt that the death of Prince Zhou was strange.

"Forget it." Jia Rong sighed, "Since the princes are unwilling to come to the capital, forget it. Pass the order to allow the princes of various places to travel and visit their relatives on their own. I will not interfere."

"The few princes who lead the troops can continue to lead them, but the troops are not allowed to leave the fiefdoms and battlefields. After the throne is passed to the crown prince, there will be no interference."

Jia Rong lifted the imperial law's house arrest restrictions on the princes of various places. "Whether they go to Jiangnan, go overseas, or come to the capital, it's up to them. The number of people accompanying them should not exceed 100, so as not to make too much noise and attract the attention of assassins."

Seeing that Jia Rong had tacitly agreed to ascend the throne, the Left Prime Minister quickly expressed his loyalty and said, "Your Majesty, if the princes of various places are allowed to move around freely, if there is a rebellion..."

Jia Rong frowned and said, "If they want to rebel, then they can rebel. I don't want to be the emperor either. If they come to rebel, it means that I am doing something wrong. I will give up my throne."

The ministers discovered that Jia Rong, like the previous emperor, really did not want to be emperor.

The previous emperor had no choice but to inherit his father's business, but he ran away after only a few years and eventually died outside.

It’s hard to say how long this term can last, but he definitely has no intention of usurping the throne.

"Yes, Your Majesty." The Left Prime Minister respectfully acknowledged the Emperor.

The other officials had no choice but to admit it.

Even Jia Zheng was afraid and scared at this time.

But his brain told Jia Zheng that there was no one in the court who could replace Jia Rong as emperor.

Logically, the Queen should be the regent, but the Queen was almost deposed by the Emperor and had no children. She was saved from smallpox by Jia Rong. She would definitely choose Jia Rong instead of another woman's one-year-old son to be the Emperor.

It is rare that members of the royal family are unwilling to be the emperor, and would rather pretend to be crazy and hurt themselves than come.

It is true that Jia Rong is an outsider, but he is most likely the illegitimate son of the retired emperor.

And does this count as usurping the throne? Definitely not.

Jia Rong has no soldiers, is not a general, and is not a powerful minister. He is a prince recognized by the emperor himself.

The emperor died of pain before he could leave a suicide note, but even if he did, it would be useless. Now he can designate who will be the emperor, and it would be Jia Rong!
Jia Rong was not a powerful official, and his official position from beginning to end was in the Imperial Medical Bureau.

Song founder Zhao Kuangyin usurped the throne, but Jia Rong did not. Jia Rong was a prince, not a general, and he had never threatened anyone with force.

The emperor died because he was loyal to his duties. According to the family tree, after the emperor's death, the line of King Zhongxiao was the emperor's closest relative.

Jia Rong actually had a very good relationship with the emperor. Now that he thought of the emperor's kindness, he couldn't help feeling sad.

"If I don't care, the emperor's offspring will surely be killed by others. Send the children in the palace to my house for care. Those with mothers should be taken back to their parents' homes for upbringing. The rest should be raised together with my offspring in Ning Mansion and Rong Mansion to prevent them from being killed by assassins and traitors."

Zong Zheng quickly knelt down and said respectfully: "Your Majesty is wise! Long live the emperor! Long live the emperor! Long, long live the emperor!"

Seeing this, the others also knelt down and kowtowed to the new emperor.

The queen stood up excitedly and knelt down in front of Jia Rong, but she could not help but raise her head and look at the mighty new emperor.

Jia Rong looked at no one, with a look of annoyance on his face. "Tell the women in the Jiangnan Palace to go back to their parents' homes and marry on their own. If they have children, they can take care of them as their own children."

"The emperor now has 30 or 40 children. The rest can be left among the people. It doesn't matter. If we investigate and verify them one by one, it will be hard to figure out the answer. The ones in the palace and those born by the emperor when he was in Jiangnan are the main ones."

The Zongzheng who was in charge of this matter agreed: "I obey your order."

Jia Rong said, "Issue an imperial decree to exempt all localities from agricultural taxes for one year. Military salaries will be paid by the court. Military meritorious service and imperial examination candidates will be allowed to enter the capital, so that their descendants can benefit from it."

"The world should be stable now. From now on, the term of office of county magistrates, prefects, governors, generals, and officials of the fifth rank and above in the capital will be increased from three years to five years, and they can be re-elected for a maximum of ten years, giving them more time to do their job well."

The ministers were overjoyed.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!!"

Jia Rong sighed, feeling very upset. "Issue an imperial decree. Anyone who passes the imperial examination can become an official within three years. Anyone who passes the imperial examination can come to the capital. In each prefecture, a craftsman academy will be set up to teach mathematics and technical skills. Those with superb skills will be selected to work in craftsman workshops in various places."

The ministers didn't understand why Jia Rong cared so much about the craftsmen, but Jia Rong was also giving benefits to the scholars of the world, so naturally no one objected to this.

Jia Rong added, "I will not live in the palace. There is no need to recruit eunuchs and maids for the palace anymore. These eunuchs and maids are enough for me."

The queen quickly said, "Your Majesty! How can this be possible? You are the emperor, you should live in the palace!"

The Queen strongly opposed it, saying that the Emperor must live in the palace and have sex with the Queen!
Jia Rong doesn't like eunuchs and doesn't want to live in the palace.

It’s not like I’ve lived in a palace before, so I don’t feel anything at all, and there are too many people getting in the way.

"I've made up my mind! If you're scared, you can live in the palace. I don't live in the palace anyway!"

The queen's heart was immediately moved, and she quickly said softly: "I am afraid to live here. Since the emperor does not want to live with the queen, then I will not live here either."

The Chief of the Imperial Clan, the left and right prime ministers, and the five military commanders looked at each other, and finally all agreed to this matter.

It's reasonable to be afraid, after all, they are afraid too...

Zong Zheng and others were actually afraid of the palace at night and didn't want to join in the fun at night.

Although the emperor died in Jiangnan and the prince of Zhou died in Henan, these were not the real areas of activity of the assassin.

Only after nightfall does the old assassin become truly invincible.

It can't be stopped at all. Over the years, everyone has always been dealing with the aftermath and never thought about investigating the specific reasons.

Only Jia Rong dared to investigate secretly.

Tens of thousands of elite soldiers and muskets and artillery were unable to stop the enemy's frontal charge. Does anyone really believe in the ability of the guards of the Forbidden City?
If these people were of some use, the emperor would not have been tortured to death.

Wang Ziteng and Jia Zheng were both in a dilemma. Neither of them had expected Jia Rong to become the emperor, and to be the popular one.

At this time, Eunuch Wu stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, now that the Emperor and His Majesty are both living in the palace, we servants should also go into the palace to serve the Emperor."

Jia Rong cursed: "You bastards! You keep calling me a slave all day long, are you human beings?"

There was silence in the Golden Throne Hall for several seconds.

Eunuch Wu knelt down quickly and said in panic, "Your Majesty, please calm down! Your Majesty, please calm down! This servant deserves death!"

Jia Rong scolded, "You dog slave! You and the eunuchs in the palace are all the same. From now on, behave like human beings. You are officials of whatever rank you are, not eunuchs!"

"Whatever you were in charge of before, continue to be in charge of the same things in the palace. As for serving me, you don't have to do that. I will give you a year to familiarize yourself with the affairs of the palace."

"Whether you are a housekeeper, handling government affairs, or drafting memorials or imperial edicts, you should learn some skills. Those who are over 60 can go out to live in retirement, or you can continue to take a leisurely job in the palace as a gardener. In short, I will not forget your hard work. You don't have to be a slave all day long!"

Jia Rong doesn't like having smelly eunuchs around him, and prefers to use beautiful women.

Eunuch Wu kowtowed excitedly, "Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Jia Rong was still very upset. "The emperor died too suddenly, and the prince of Zhou also died suddenly. They both died young. I was thinking about what would happen if I died."

The ministers have always ignored this issue, but now they have to think about this very troublesome problem.

The Minister of War replied: "It is natural that the emperor's son will inherit the throne."

Jia Rong shook his head. "What do you know, little kid? If I am killed by an assassin or a traitor, you will go to King Zhou and move the capital to Luoyang."

"In order to prevent the King of Zhou from refusing to take on the important task, we will continue to build a large city in Songjiang Prefecture according to the Emperor's order. If something happens in the capital in the future, we can go to Songjiang Prefecture to make a decision."

"I have already had people capture the Japanese island, and we will immigrate there when the time comes. To the south is my fiefdom of Luzon Island, so we can attack or defend both places, ensuring that we have no worries in our rear."

"It will probably take several years to go back and forth, and the assassin will probably be old and dead. By then, if there is someone among the princes of various places who can take on the responsibility, I will naturally be willing to abdicate and let him take over."

Everyone discovered that Jia Rong had indeed thought of a way out for the country.

But the only problem is that the royal family members are not up to the task and are like mud that cannot be helped.

Jia Rong felt very uncomfortable as there would be no emperor for him to fight anymore.

Your Majesty!!!
(End of this chapter)